If diet and weight are as important to health and wellbeing as experts believe, Irish men need to make changes to what they eat and how often they exercise. The statistics make interesting reading, First, an estimated 27.7 percent of  Irish males aged 20-74 years are obese. By comparison, obesity affects 19 percent of Australian men, 12 percent of French men and only 3.6 percent of Japanese. Second, the average lifespan of Irish men is 74.9 years, (Japan 77.8) of which an estimated 8 years are lived in ill-health (Japan 6.5).